Big Isle police losing no-fault coverage

By Hugh Clark
Advertiser Big Island Bureau

HILO, Hawai'i — Hawai'i County is scrambling to find new no-fault auto insurance for its police force after learning its coverage will be dropped March 1 because of a high number of collisions involving police officers.

In a cancellation notice, insurance carrier TIG Crum and Forster Inc. noted 39 claims in the last two years.

The claims include an undisclosed amount paid to the family of a woman killed in a police pursuit of a stolen-vehicle suspect in Hilo in 2000.

Assistant Chief Lawrence Mahuna said he believes that a traffic fatality on Dec. 2,when an elderly Kona woman was struck by a patrol officer as she crossed the street on her way to church, may have been the last straw for the insurance company.

"I guess there were too many claims against our officers driving subsidized vehicles in terms of either injuries to themselves or others," Mahuna said.

The county is paying $428,000 this year to TIG Crum and Forster to cover 376 police officers driving on and off duty in their subsidized police cars. The no-fault insurance covers injuries but the officers, who receive a car allowance of $600 a month, must purchase their own collision insurance for vehicle damage.

Mahuna said he doesn't think the high rate of accidents means the officers' driving is worse than the general public's.

"I just think that's just a nature of police work," he said. "The more times you respond in an emergency mode, the more chance you have of getting into an accident."

The county now must solicit bids for a new insurance carrier. Mahuna expects the rates for the new company to be higher, but he said the biggest problem in finding new coverage will be getting a policy in place by March 1.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.